Traffic and life on the road in Chennai

This is a discussion on Traffic and life on the road in Chennai within Street Experiences, part of the Buckle Up category; Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom
Even better that you do not hold the car on the clutch on a ...

Well, I thought holding clutch was easier, but then, on going through forums, I understood that clutch damages/replacements are expensive affairs & using less clutch at all times ensures lesser maintenance cost. Hence I changed my driving (and riding) habits to use lesser clutch & brakes. It was much difficult for 2wheelers, but then I learned the hard way.

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I do for longer stops, eg at signals. Comes under the heading of relax! (Like it used to say on the red signal!)

Signals are for definite. Also I cultivated my habit of engaging the gear, half clutch (so that the vehicles tries to move but can't due to hand brake) & then release the hand brake so that the car doesn't move a mm also in reverse.

Well, I know it hurts the eyes of the driver immediately behind. But the thing is, the brakelights would be visible to the one behind him/her too. When you're in places like Chennai where people go colour blind when the timer at a signal reads anything less than 10, it's better to indicate that you're not going to move unless it turns green, instead of letting them assume that you're going to rev up and take off

That is something that I always do. I don't move my car unless the signal turns green even if the people in the other lanes start moving, much to the annoyance of everyone stuck behind me. People keep on honking like anything here as everyone knows. I take my time with the signals.

For some reason people absolutely do not want to wait at the "No Free left turns" even when it is clearly mentioned. When I see a red signal at a no free left turn I stop and wait for the signal to turn Green. There are people who come up behind me and wait along with me (along with the usual honkers).

Then, I realize that I have forgotten to turn on the indicator. What happens some times is that then the people behind me realize that I am waiting for a signal to turn left, and something happens to them ans they start honking like crazy

The same people who are ready to wait when they think I am going to turn right from the left most side of the road, cannot wait the moment they see that I am actually waiting to turn left. Surreal!!!

And the less we talk about the timers the better. Initially I thought that signal timers would be of help, but off late I realize that its just another danger to our roads and it would be better if they are taken off as at least people would not start racing from as early as 10 seconds left on the timer.

For some reason people absolutely do not want to wait at the "No Free left turns" even when it is clearly mentioned...

The same people who are ready to wait when they think I am going to turn right from the left most side of the road, cannot wait the moment they see that I am actually waiting to turn left. Surreal!!!

These imbeciles on wheels have some sort of wierd and topsy-turvy intelligence. Either that, or they're used to the MTC buses and water tankers waiting "patiently" on the left most lane to turn right at a signal.

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And the less we talk about the timers the better. Initially I thought that signal timers would be of help, but off late I realize that its just another danger to our roads and it would be better if they are taken off as at least people would not start racing from as early as 10 seconds left on the timer.

About timers, you know, it'll at least synchronize the take-off of all these locusts. Without timers, most of these clowns would have their timer go off independently, of course before the signal turns green for the civilized lot. With the timers there, at least you'll know that t minus10 seconds is going to be dangerous. Else, t minus anything is.

I boarded an MTC bus on sunday (route 29C - Thiruvanmiyur to Perambur). I was astonished to see that the driver was sticking on to the LEFT lane and obeying all signals. He was also not lugging the engine, unlike his kin. Something positive after a long time (aargee, hope you're listening )

The rule for moving from a red light here seems to be (if you've stopped at all that is):

You can move once the traffic coming from the opposite side has thinned or it has been 30 seconds since you have been stationary at the signal, whichever is less.

There are some addendums to this rule as well:

1. Buses, trucks, trailers, tractors and other heavy vehicles do not need to stop or slow down for a red light. Just a steady hand on the horn and a steady foot on the accelerator pedal is enough.
2. Scorpios, sumos, qualis's etc with party flags do not need to stop for a red light. Although they can if they feel like stopping.
3. 2-wheelers can stop but only if they have reached the head of the signal, else they must keep moving till they reach the head, petty obstacles like ORVMs, bumpers and pedestrians be damned.
4. Cars are supposed to follow the flow of the traffic. So if there is a bus right behind you blowing it's horn and not slowing down, you're better off sending up a prayer and jumping the signal!

I boarded an MTC bus on sunday (route 29C - Thiruvanmiyur to Perambur). I was astonished to see that the driver was sticking on to the LEFT lane and obeying all signals. He was also not lugging the engine, unlike his kin. Something positive after a long time (aargee, hope you're listening )

Well, yes, trust me, I find it extremely hard to believe this!!!

None of these morons, I mean, none of them are equipped even with a brain of crocodile.

I'm even thinking of filing a PIL, but...is there a use?

If I ever come across such a driver @silversteed, I WILL appreciate him on his driving skills. It will only encourage him to keep it up. BTW, was he wearing a Khaki or blue uniform? It doesn't matter, but still

I boarded an MTC bus on sunday (route 29C - Thiruvanmiyur to Perambur). I was astonished to see that the driver was sticking on to the LEFT lane and obeying all signals. He was also not lugging the engine, unlike his kin. Something positive after a long time (aargee, hope you're listening )

Wow. Is he a t-bhp member too?

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Originally Posted by aargee

Well, yes, trust me, I find it extremely hard to believe this!!!

I'm even thinking of filing a PIL, but...is there a use?

If I ever come across such a driver @silversteed, I WILL appreciate him on his driving skills. It will only encourage him to keep it up. BTW, was he wearing a Khaki or blue uniform? It doesn't matter, but still

Even I found it hard to believe. The ride was good - almost devoid of the frequent lateral and longitudinal motion that is common with MTC rides. Since I was seated on the second row of seats on the left side, I had a clear view of the dash board and the RHS ORVM. This bus had the tacho and speedo working too.

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If I ever come across such a driver @silversteed, I WILL appreciate him on his driving skills. It will only encourage him to keep it up.

I wanted to tell him, but the other 4 passengers on the left side (except me) were engrossed in a conversation with him. They seemed to be MTC personnel. The driver would take his eyes off the road only sparingly.

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BTW, was he wearing a Khaki or blue uniform? It doesn't matter, but still

He was in a Blue uniform. Now what is the difference between Khaki and Blue uniforms? I know the beige coloured ones man the Volvos

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Originally Posted by MX6

Wow. Is he a t-bhp member too?

I doubt. If BHPians were aplenty as in Bangy, there is a small possibility but alas... On another note, Chennai BHPians are rarely spotted, and they hardly ever check the spottings thread

And I bet they are as pissed off with all the bikers/cars/cyclists cutting in and around them, which could be part of the reason for their driving. As much as I love driving, like Thad mentioned, I would hate to have driving as a profession in Chennai.

Thanks to the lack of a proper driver's training and licensing system in India, almost all of us drive crappily, making mistakes either knowingly or due to ignorance of the correct practices. It's just that we notice only the mistakes of others, while not seeing or ignoring our own mistakes. Reminds me of the signature of someone here : Anyone who drives faster than me is driving rashly, while anyone driving at a lower speed is a moron.

Also the crocodile might take offense too - from what I see on NatGeo they are not eaxctly what you can call brain-challenged creatures.

Sunday evening at 6:45 pm after two days of sitting with the laptop with official wanted to get off it and we planned to visit wifey's sister and hubby at Anna Nagar. I thought lets try a different route and a nice evening drive to go to Anna Nagar. Avoid Kathipara/100-ft-rd/Mount-rd/T.Nagar etc.

OK, So the plan was go to Kamakshi hospital take right into NH209 and connect onto GST and land between Pallavaram and Chrompet. I checked GM before leaving and decided in my mind to take left and go to Tiruneermalai just after getting down from the flyover into GST.

From there we would take the Chennai Bypass to Ambattur and then NH205 or atleast take a right into NH4 - PH Road.

See map (Red was the plan)
But we ended up doing the blue. G-B-C-D-E-F onward. 40km.

Issues:
1. I missed the Tiruneermalai Road and landed up in the Pammal Road though I am damn sure I took the first prominent left as I got down from the flyover (NH209-GST junction flyover)

2. At "C" in the map I could not get on to the "Chennai Bypass". I asked a biker whilst just below the Chennai Bypass overhead road, how do I get on to it. He said - 10 km below/along-side the bridge - bad roads and then get on. He suggested we go to Kunrathur.

3. We reached "D" - left would be Poonamallee, right would be Porur. We knew close to Ramachandra hospital, near the Metro Water we could get on to the Chennai Bypass. That desperate I was to get on to it. But we tried our chance and we reached "E" though the plan was to go to Ramachandra.

From E we knew.

So, the Net Net - I never got to get on to the Bypass road and the question remains,

What are the entry/exit pts on to it?

Also, when on the ChennaiBypass and going towards Ambattur, is it well marked at the NH4-ChennaiBypass cross-pt directions to get below to the NH4?

Should I have taken left at GST-NH209 cross-pt to go to Tambaram to get on to the bypass. That would have been better looks like.

When we drove back after a night-show (Break ke Baad) - still recovering from it, took 20 min, 20 km. F-G (in the map)

Warning: Take a print-out of the above, pen-paper, GM-visits and might require re-reading to exactly understand my route